What is that Dark Line on the Carpet around your Baseboards?

Now I haven’t forgotten about that little teaser I put out last month. Our cleaning professionals are chockfull of knowledge about carpet and upholstery, and one of the most common questions we encounter revolves around that dark mystery line that can be found along the carpet at the wall’s baseboards. Many people mistakenly diagnose it as mold. In fact, it is usually a build up of dust and dirt that can be attributed to the way the air circulates throughout most homes. I know, a lot of people breathe a sigh of relief to find out it is not likely to be mold, and then wonder what they can do to treat or prevent the dark lines.

Yes, it is preventable, and I’d like to help you understand why it’s happening so the steps I prescribe to avoid further darkening will make sense.

The perimeters of the carpet are subject to turning a dingy gray or black because the natural airflow in people’s homes sucks dust bunnies and air particles to that area between most floors and walls. Not using the attachments on the vacuum cleaner to tend to those areas regularly, and neglecting to change out the air filters frequently will indeed exacerbate the problem. Unfortunately, conventional vacuum cleaners don’t extend that close to the wall and the only way to avoid those dark marks is to religiously use those attachments to thoroughly clean that inch or two-wide line of carpet that gets passed by time and again.

If you’ve already got the problem, you can try a natural solvent to clean it. Create a 50-50 mix of white vinegar and water. Unscrew a broom handle from a broom’s head and tie a clean white cloth to it. Dip it in the solution and clean along your baseboards. This should help fade it a little, and we can also treat it, but you may not be able to eliminate the darkest stains entirely. The most important thing you can do is preventative maintenance.

How often do you vacuum? And how often do you break out the attachments and hit the corners and crevices? Did this information about the darkened carpet encourage you to give more attention to the area along your baseboards? Glad we could help!

If you have any questions for us, drop us a line!

And in answer to John in Cumming who has a question about cleaning his carpets during this humid weather: No problem, John! CitruSolution’s specially formulated treatment is designed to dry quickly—even in this heinous weather we’ve been having!